Am I Qualified Now?

Red lotuses bloomed one after another above Hanshui City with terrifying might. Lu Yang's eyelids twitched at the sight, and he felt fortunate that Sect Master Qiu kept his grievances separate from the younger generation, never taking out his grudge against Lu Yang's master on Lu Yang himself. After bombarding his opponent with five blasts of Red Lotus Karmic Fire, Qiu Jin'an's spiritual power hit bottom. Provincial Governor Lü immediately channeled the power of national destiny, swiftly replenishing it. In the mere blink of an eye, Qiu Jin'an's spiritual power returned to an overflowing state. With the power of national destiny present, injuries and spiritual power reserves were no longer an issue. As Emperor Xia had put it, when backed by the power of national destiny, a battle of attrition was the last thing one had to fear. Qiu Jin'an was not surprised; this was hardly his first time fighting side by side with a wielder of national destiny. "Good! Splendid!" Not a single patch of intact flesh remained on Wu Youdao's body. Murderous intent rolled off him so fiercely that everyone across Hanshui City could feel it, shivering involuntarily as though plunging into an icy cavern. This was not an attack, but simply an effect of Wu Youdao's immense strength—his emotional fluctuations alone were enough to warp the surrounding atmosphere. "Did you think a mere Red Lotus Karmic Fire could defeat Us?" White mist rose from Wu Youdao's body, and beneath its veil, his wounds healed at astonishing speed. Qiu Jin'an had never expected a mere Red Lotus Karmic Fire to pull off the feat of felling a cultivator an entire major realm higher, especially when crossing the chasm between the Body Integration stage and Tribulation Transcendence. Still, that it accomplished so little was beyond his expectations. Lu Yang was bewildered. He could not comprehend why the Red Lotus Karmic Fire had produced such a minimal effect on Wu Youdao. "The Red Lotus Karmic Fire is a Buddhist karmic flame meant to deliver the wicked. If so much as a spark catches, it uses evil karma as kindling to burn furiously. Could it be that he has never committed an evil deed?" Man Gu and Zhao Po were equally baffled. On this matter, Meng Jingzhou could explain: "Do you see the five-colored dragon-tiger qi surrounding Wu Youdao? That is the hallmark of a sovereign emperor. How could an emperor's deeds ever be judged by mortal concepts of good and evil?" Qiu Jin'an and Provincial Governor Lü realized this as well, shifting their combat approach. Wu Youdao gave them no time to adjust, striking first. Countless chains manifested behind him. "Buddha Purgatory Palm!" The chains resembled a prison, pitch-black as ink. They seemed forged from dark iron, yet also appeared to be condensed from vast magical power—an exceptionally bizarre state of existence. "Tribulation Transcendence cultivators can refine materials that do not exist in the mortal world. These chains must have been crafted by Wu Youdao!" Five-Colored Divine Light radiated from Qiu Jin'an's entire body. Under its brilliance, the "metal" within the purgatory rapidly dissolved, leaving behind only the outer form sustained by magical power. Qiu Jin'an's words reminded Lu Yang of the Child-and-Mother River and the Twin River created by the Immortal Fairy. If Tribulation Transcendence cultivators could refine materials that did not exist in this world, an immortal would only be far more formidable. The chains were no longer a threat, but the sheer force of Wu Youdao's palm strike remained crushing and unavoidable. Qiu Jin'an showed no fear. Five miniature flames the color of glazed glass appeared on his fingertips. Shifting from fist to palm, he fused the five tiny flames together. The faint wisps of flame leaking between his fingers were enough to warp the surrounding space. "Glazed Pure Fire!" The flame clashed against the Buddha Purgatory Palm, the two forces locking in fierce contention like a dragon battling a tiger. As the deadlock dragged on, Qiu Jin'an's cultivation proved insufficient to sustain the output. His stamina waned, and the Glazed Pure Fire began to fall into a disadvantage. "I'm here too!" Provincial Governor Lü pressed his palm against Qiu Jin'an's back, pouring an unending stream of spiritual power into him and breathing fresh life into the Glazed Pure Fire. "Grand Luo Triple Force!" Wu Youdao abruptly withdrew his strength and unleashed another palm strike. The three layers of Grand Luo force crested higher and higher, shattering the Glazed Pure Fire and slamming into Qiu Jin'an's chest. Qiu Jin'an swiftly tapped his acupoints, temporarily sealing the triple force surging wildly through his body. "Three Thousand Weak Waters!" Qiu Jin'an spat out the Three Thousand Weak Waters. The vast, torrential Weak Water surged without end, submerging Wu Youdao. Wu Youdao attempted to tear free from its binding, but on the Weak Water, even a goose feather could not float, and reed blossoms sank straight to the bottom—it was the lightest substance under heaven. Even with Wu Youdao's cultivation, breaking free proved exceedingly difficult. "Breathing Earth!" Qiu Jin'an drew forth a clump of Soil of Breathing Earth. This was the immortal soil of legends, something used personally by an immortal. Every bit used was gone for good, but in this desperate hour, he had no room for hesitation. The Soil of Breathing Earth expanded upon contact with water, multiplying rapidly against the Weak Water to bury Wu Youdao beneath it. *Pfft—* Only now did Qiu Jin'an cough up several mouthfuls of blood. Such was the sheer power of the Grand Luo Triple Force. Had he spat blood earlier, Wu Youdao would certainly have seized the opening to press the attack, in which case victory would have become utterly impossible. Provincial Governor Lü hurried forward to treat Qiu Jin'an's injuries, sharing a portion of the burden from the Grand Luo Triple Force. *Crack—* The Weak Water and Breathing Earth did not hold Wu Youdao for long. Fueled by fury, he charged at Qiu Jin'an. He had seen through the situation: Qiu Jin'an was currently the hardest opponent to handle, while Provincial Governor Lü took second place. "Five-Colored Divine Light!" Qiu Jin'an fought with everything he had, continuously unleashing the Five-Colored Divine Light. He hurled out five-elements treasures one after another, employing as many as thirty distinct varieties of True Fire alone! Wu Youdao held nothing back either, unleashing his lethal techniques. "Heaven-Shaking Finger!" Though named a single finger, it was in truth a miniature world. It condensed the might of Universe in the Palm into an index finger, its fingerprint ridges so vast that four-horse chariots could gallop abreast across them! "Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, Five Qi Facing the Origin!" Qiu Jin'an refined essence into qi, refined qi into spirit, and refined spirit into the void, finally gathering them at his crown to become invulnerable to myriad tribulations. The five qi of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth harmonized and aligned, returning to the Yellow Court to achieve the ultimate state of perfect unobstructed realization—an indescribably marvelous realm. "Tanggu Water! Fusang Wood! Golden Crow True Fire!" Qiu Jin'an brought out three supreme treasures, recreating the scene of the birth of the ten suns. In terms of power, it far surpassed True Monarch Mengtian's Ten Suns Traversing the Sky! "Fusang Wood! So the Fusang branch fell into your hands!" The two erupted into a savage, desperate battle. Neither chose defense, unleashing their utmost offense to strike at each other, trading wound for wound. Provincial Governor Lü could barely keep up with the shifts in the magical duel between them, able only to pour his efforts tirelessly into healing Qiu Jin'an. *Pfft—* Qiu Jin'an was kicked flying backward, countless ribs snapping, his very soul shaken and damaged. "Splendid! For a mere Body Integration cultivator to trade blows back and forth with Us—this is the first time We have ever seen the likes of it!" Wu Youdao held the upper hand over Qiu Jin'an. His body had taken injuries, but fortunately his foundation remained unharmed, and his soul was untouched. "Can you still fight?" Provincial Governor Lü asked via a hushed divine sense transmission while healing Qiu Jin'an. "Damn it, I'm running out of offensive techniques!" Pushed to this brink, Qiu Jin'an saw red, cursing furiously. "If we had just one more Body Integration cultivator on my level, or someone like that Old Scoundrel Buyu, we could win!" "Where are we supposed to find someone like that?" Provincial Governor Lü stared. If it were a matter of mere numbers, it would be easy enough, but this clearly was not a situation where adding a few ordinary Body Integration cultivators would make a difference. Wu Youdao laughed aloud, unbothered by their discussion. "We have already thoroughly inspected every soul in Hanshui City. There is no one of that caliber here." "Is that so? Did you check me, then?" An unfamiliar voice echoed from below, putting all three combatants on high alert. "Who's speaking?" A man wearing a white paper hat slowly flew up from the residence housing the sacrificial ghost, ascending into the sky step by step. Wu Youdao saw through the realm of the man in the white paper hat at a glance and sneered at his sheer presumption: "With merely an early Body Integration cultivation, what right do you have to step into a battle between us?" The man in the white paper hat offered no reply. At the same time, several hundred people walked out of their houses and onto the streets across the city. The avenues were already deserted, making these several hundred individuals exceptionally conspicuous. Vicious ghosts spotted them and lunged viciously to tear them apart, only to be struck down casually by one of the figures. These hundreds of people had entirely distinct appearances and identities: some were petty thieves, some swindlers, some accountants, some restaurant waiters, and others were workers from a barbecue shop. As the man in the white paper hat stepped into the sky, these hundreds of individuals took flight one after another, fusing into his body. The cultivation of the man in the white paper hat surged repeatedly, like a roaring river rushing against the current, climbing at a rate that sent chills through the onlookers' hearts. Early Body Integration, middle Body Integration, late Body Integration... half-step Tribulation Transcendence! He stood suspended opposite Wu Youdao and asked indifferently: "Am I qualified now?"